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Wyoming community mourns loss of mother who fell through ice trying to save dog

Posted at 10:01 PM, Dec 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-10 22:01:42-05

WYOMING, Mich. --The loss of local mother Tracy Cashman is being felt around the Wyoming community.

Investigators say the mother of three died  after trying to save her dog after it walked out onto a frozen pond at Battjes Park Saturday night.

“Tracy touched a lot of lives,” said Kevin Polsten, superintendent for Godfrey-Lee Public Schools.

Cashman was an employee with the district for 15 years. While her official title was director of operations, transportation, and food services, unofficially she was a mother figure to staff and students alike.

Cashman was known for talking to kids in the lunchroom, pushing kids on the swings at recess, and being a school bus aide.

“She taught us how to do a lot of things, to be kind to people,” said 7th grader George Cabrera.

She also was responsible for making sure the 95 percent of Godfrey-Lee students who qualify for free and reduced lunch got the paperwork done to receive their meals.

Tracy even got certified as a bus driver and was in the process of taking her road test so that she could be a substitute bus driver for the district, because substitutes are hard to find.

But the Polsten says Cashman never wanted any credit for the work she did. “She was never one to be out front, trying to get credit. She was always someone that would do things behind the scenes, but do the things that needed to get done, because it was good for the kids.”

AGoFundMe page has been set up to help Tracy's family cover funeral expenses.

Godfrey-Lee also cancelled class on Friday so staff and students can attend her funeral.